AHS Class of 2014 weathered the storms

LAKEVILLE — For Apponequet Regional High School's class of 2014 who were freshmen when the weather brought on historic flooding in Freetown and Lakeville, high school has been somewhat of a storm in itself. As cited during Principal Barbara Starkie's speech Friday evening, the 214 graduates' high school careers have bee...

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By MATTHEW FERREIRA

southcoasttoday.com

By MATTHEW FERREIRA

Posted Jun. 13, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By MATTHEW FERREIRA
Posted Jun. 13, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

LAKEVILLE — For Apponequet Regional High School's class of 2014 who were freshmen when the weather brought on historic flooding in Freetown and Lakeville, high school has been somewhat of a storm in itself. As cited during Principal Barbara Starkie's speech Friday evening, the 214 graduates' high school careers have been subject to four schedules, three principals, three assistant principals, three superintendents and 50 new staff during their years at Apponequet. However, the AHS principal believes this whirlwind of change combined with other challenges has not only allowed the graduates to display their resilience, but also has prepared them for what's to come.

"All the while, you have persevered, risen to challenges, and earned your way to sit here as soon-to-be-graduates," she said of their last four years. "Safe to say, members of the Class of 2014, that the resilience you have built has prepared you well to adapt to any changes that will inevitably, come your way. And there will be many."

Dr. Starkie also asked students to remember their classmate, Brandyn Fiola, who passed away unexpectedly in January.

Class President Meredith Cooney spoke to the diversity of her classmates and her own feelings of closeness to them all.

"All 214 of us "¦ all play a special part in this class. From our athletes "¦ mathletes "¦ top 10, to our exchange students, we are all so different, but we make our class that much more unique," she said from behind her aviator sunglasses. "I truly believe that any student, staff member, or friend could say any one of your names and I would be able to share a funny story about you or of our friendship."

Class valedictorian Jenna Christiansen catalogued many of the thoughts graduates might have been having while "sitting in very uncomfortable chairs" waiting for the handing of diplomas and put those thoughts in context with the mystery of what comes after.

"We'll worry about whether our names will be pronounced right, we'll worry about tripping on our gowns "¦ we'll panic as we forget which hand is supposed to take the diploma and which is supposed to shake the hand of the person giving it to us," she said. "We put a lot of focus on these last few steps"¦. We don't typically think about the steps we'll take after receiving our diplomas, but those are the steps that matter, because it is in that moment as we're walking back to our seats "¦ that our futures begin."

Class salutatorian Meghan Patrick surprised the crowd when she pulled out an old Polaroid camera and asked, "instead of making a long, inspiring speech, do you guys mind if I just take a photo instead?" before snapping a picture of her classmates.

"Just like this photo, our time at Apponequet was just a brief snapshot in our lives. For a moment, we were all together here with an entire world of opportunities waiting ahead of us. Over the last four years, our minds, our friendships, and our characters developed. We overcame our negative situations, and we focused on a positive outcome," she said. "It went by in a flash, however we created an image, a memory, each of us can never forget."

Graduate Kayla Chernecky, winner of the year's "Charge to the Graduates" competition, offered words of encouragement to her classmates, regardless of where they find themselves at this stage in life.

"Some of us know what we want, and others are still struggling to find their places in the world, but that's okay, because even when you stumble, you're still moving forward," she said. "Don't be discouraged by regrets and mistakes — a mistake can only hurt you if you don't learn from it."

With temperatures nearing 80 degrees earlier that afternoon, an intense sunset amidst a mostly-cloudless sky served as the backdrop to which families watched their graduates receive their diplomas starting around 7 p.m. The dense crowd of spectators, which stretched far beyond the bleachers on both sides and continuing to the ends of Griffith Field were not shy about making sure graduates heard their cheers, blow horns, and hollers of inside jokes as they walked. Diplomas were handed out by a mix of elementary, middle and high school staff and past to present town officials of each graduates' choosing.

Graduate Hannah Carter, who received a note-worthy eruption of cheers from her classmates and the crowd before the speaker even called her name, sprinted in excitement across the field into the arms of special education teacher Jane Estrella who runs the Life Skills Program at Apponequet.

"I was very happy," Hannah said outside the ceremony of the crowd's response. "Mrs. Estrella is a very good teacher."

Despite the massive crowd-response, Estrella said, "I didn't hear a sound. All I saw was her precious face filled with so much joy and love."

"I did not feel all that differently physically but mentally I knew that I was a grown up," graduate Richie Oliver told The Gazette after the ceremony, also noting how he commended his class for "coming together under times of hardship."

"While overcoming the turmoil of our school system was challenging "¦ the greatest unifying event of our class was handling the death of our fellow classmate," Salutatorian Meghan said of the loss of Brandyn Fiola. "It was a terrible tragedy for us all to lose a fellow Laker, but we came together as a family and created a support system I have never experienced before."

On June 3, 116 members of the Apponequet Regional High School senior class received awards and scholarships totaling over $120,000 in a ceremony at the Robert Falcon Auditorium. The following students received scholarships and awards: